New York State Common Retirement Fund Cuts Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 13.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 165,190 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,541 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $32,802,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Stephens Inc. AR purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $234,000. Reston Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd boosted its position in Ferguson by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,638 shares of the company’s stock worth $722,000 after purchasing an additional 752 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Ferguson by 25.0% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 1,440 shares during the period. Finally, Wilson Asset Management International PTY Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $5,991,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Citigroup upped their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $197.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $154.61 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $198.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.54.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.